Humanity is at a crossroad
by AdamZeeper
Summary: A section of the timeline found in futuretimeline DOT net that I found VERY interesting. A prompt for anyone to try if they find it interesting.


**DISCLAIMER: I DID NOT WRITE THE INFORMATIONS BELOW. SOURCE OF THE INFORMATION IS AT THE YEAR 2050 SECTION "Humanity is at a crossroad" OF THE WEBSITE FUTURETIMELINE DOT NET.**

The world of 2050 is a world of contrasts and paradoxes. On the one hand, science and technology have continued to advance in response to emerging crises, challenges and opportunities. This has created radical transformations in genetics, nanotechnology, biotechnology and related fields. On the other hand, many of these same technologies have been so disruptive that it has led to a more frightening, unpredictable and chaotic world than ever before. Humanity is now at a crossroads that will determine its future path for centuries to come – survival or destruction, prosperity or collapse.

Some of the most cherished political, economic and social structures have been turned on their heads. In a sense, capitalism remains the dominant economic model, but is now evolving drastically in response to ecological impacts, resource scarcity, demographic trends, technology and a host of other factors. The endless consumer culture that was prevalent throughout the first world has all but collapsed, replaced by a societal need to conserve. Though there are still many wealthy people around, money is concentrated in a shrinking upper class. By 2050, "traditional" free market capitalism is largely viewed as a broken system.

As more and more wealth trickles upwards to the hyper-rich elite, there is a growing consensus that money itself – the profit motive – is a major obstacle to future progress, and a new driving force may be required for civilisation to flourish. Debates are raging on what reforms to make in order to adapt societies to this rapidly changing world. People everywhere sense that a great transition is approaching, the likes of which has never been seen before in all of human history. It is clear that some new global paradigm will appear; but it is still unclear what this will be.

Decades of stagflation have produced a fragmented, chaotic and perpetually sluggish global economy. Nearly half of the world's nations have "junk" credit ratings, effectively making them bankrupt. US national debt has now reached almost 400% of GDP, far exceeding even the levels seen during World War II. China and India, though surpassing the US in overall GDP, have also stagnated.

In the face of economic catastrophe, international politics has faced enormous challenges. Although the number of democratic countries has risen significantly over the years, many have turned inward, cutting off foreign relations. Revolutions, wars and failed states have produced a strikingly different geopolitical map than seen at the beginning of the century. To repair and maintain the fabric of society, an increasing number of regions have abandoned their national currencies in favour of interest-free, non-fiat, non-inflationary local ones. Decentralised cash systems such as the coin and other electronic alternatives have also exploded in use.

Social systems are under extraordinary stress today. The younger generations are increasingly resentful towards the elderly – seeing them as the cause of many problems, and a drain on capital as the ratio of workers to seniors continues to fall. The rich and poor have continued to grow apart, now that upward social mobility has become next to impossible. Massive protests outside corporate HQs and gated communities are a daily reality on the news. Global warming has created almost 150 million climate refugees: a sixfold increase compared to 2010. The influx of people to foreign lands has put a further strain on economies. Resentment towards migrants has produced an upsurge in nationalism with many isolationist parties sweeping government elections. To maintain order and stability, martial law and military occupation is a feature of many cities around the globe. Radical new political parties and movements have emerged, advocating the overthrow of the reigning system.

Recycling and waste management – for decades neglected by many countries – are among the issues now taking centre stage. New regulations and market pressures have forced corporations to move away from the model of planned obsolescence and mass production, to one of conservation and responsibility. Most firms no longer sell entirely new models of their products when technological advances are made. Instead, replacement components and upgrades form the bulk of profits, with items made of universally interchangeable parts. In a world of increasing resource conflicts, "doing more with less" has become an essential mantra. A system is also employed whereby customers return products at the end of their life cycle, to be used as materials for the next generation. In some of the worst-hit countries, mandatory resource dumps are organised, in which citizens are obligated to recycle any unnecessary possessions. Naturally such systems are highly controversial and intrusive.

Meanwhile, the widespread use of robots, automation, 3D printing and other technology has rendered obsolete many traditional human roles. Though industries have made vast improvements in speed and efficiency, it has come at the expense of a declining labour force. Consequently, overall government revenues have seen a net reduction.

Radical Islam and its resentment of the West continue to produce new Jihadists. In addition, underground groups ranging from those angry at the first world's neglect, to anarcho-primitivists, have sprung up. By 2050, at least one terrorist nuclear attack on a major world city has been conducted by one of these groups. Large amounts of nuclear material had been missing from Russia since the 1990s and some inevitably fell into the wrong hands. Being orders of magnitude greater than 9/11, the effects of this attack leave a deep psychological scar on many people alive today, fuelling much paranoia and suspicion between nations.

Despite this turmoil, progress has been achieved in cooperating on certain key issues, such as global warming. Carbon emissions have fallen substantially compared with 1990 levels, thanks to a global carbon tax and the widespread deployment of solar, wind and wave power, together with 4th generation nuclear. Fossil fuel reserves were declining in any case. Fusion power is also becoming available now and is being adopted by some of the leading nations. Orbital solar is another emerging industry. Energy efficiency and conservation have provided further reductions in CO2 output.

However, carbon emissions from earlier decades remain locked into the system. This delayed reaction will continue to affect weather patterns and climate stability, as will the ongoing destruction of the Earth's rainforests, some of which are transitioning from carbon sinks to carbon sources. Sea levels have risen over a foot by now and are beginning to affect much of the world's coastal real estate. Large-scale carbon capture and sequestration appears to be humanity's last and only hope of reversing these trends.

Amidst the chaos, a Turian-made deep space probe is propelled to the end of what humanity will come to know as Relay 341.


End file.
